Behold What Looks Like One Of The Most-Loved Beetles In Singapore

A very good longtime friend of mine is currently on his first trip to Asia now, a long work trip that is taking him from Shanghai to Singapore to Hong Kong, where he is seeking out new, fresh populations of children from whom to harvest the finest, most potent adrenochrome. I’m kidding! He’s doing very respectable work and isn’t harvesting any chemicals from any brains or glands, at least none that I know of. More importantly, when he sees some interesting cars, he’s taking pictures and sending them to me, so I can then relay them to you! You’re the real winners here!

Jeremy, the friend we’re discussing here, is not necessarily a hardcore car guy, but of course is aware of my fondness for Volkswagen Beetles. The density of vintage Beetles was never quite as intense in Asia as it was in other parts of the world, but there were definitely some. I know Japan has a decent air-cooled VW subculture, but I think they’re pretty rare in China and other population centers in Asia.

That’s why I was sort of surprised when he sent me pictures of this Beetle he spotted in Singapore, parked by St. Andrew’s Cathedral:

It’s a very clean, classic Beetle! By American Beetle standards, I’d peg it as a ’68 or ’69, but non-US market Beetle year identification can be trickier.

Around back, we can see the 1200 badging, suggesting this is a 1200, duh, and those were base-model Beetles we never got in America. There’s a few other clues about that, like the low-back seats:

Of course, this one appears to be very loved and pampered, having a custom upholstery and two-tone paint job, rear bumper rubber impact strips (usually only a ’71-’73 Super Beetle perk, but easily added), the dual chrome badges (I think a regular 1200 would only have had the VOLKSWAGEN or 1200, not both?), and the added chrome trim on the engine air intake vents (an accessory you could get from VW or aftermarket) and all the chrome trim, usually absent on 1200s.

The steering wheel and presence of cabin air-extraction )-shaped vents behind the rear side windows makes me think this is a ’72 or later Beetle, too. Mostly, though, I think this is a Beetle that is very treasured by its owner, because owning any car in Singapore is not cheap.

Jeremy was telling me that to own a car, you have to buy a 10-year license from the government for $100,000. And there’s a fixed number of those licenses! That, of course, is in addition to the price of whatever car you buy, and there are 100% tariffs on those cars. I doubt a decades-old Beetle had those sorts of tariffs, but it still is not the same as just having an old Beetle in America.

Singapore is pretty serious and rigid about car ownership, but they seem to have a sillier tone when it comes to their warning signs, though:

This Beware of Auto Barrier sign has some real cartoony energy, with the dancing pain stars over the poor neckless fella’s head, and that crouch of pain they’re in. You can almost hear them say Ow! Sonnovabitch! as they clutch their poor battered scalp.

Now that he’s in Hong Kong, Jeremy finally understands the considerable charm of the Toyota Comfort/Crown Comfort taxicabs. There’s something so straightforward and appealing about these cars. I’ve ridden in them as taxis in Japan, and even got to drive one at some event in Tokyo years ago. They have a special mechanical release for one of the rear doors from the driver’s seat, if I remember correctly. I’m delighted he got to experience the quiet pleasure of one of these.

I love seeing cars just out and about from all over the world! This is the sort of thing I craved as a child, and now it’s a reality! Some things about life do get better, at least.